Artificial Intelligence needs a hardware revolution to sustain the ever-growing demand of computing power in our society, where the huge energy consumption and environmental impact of computation with current technologies is unsustainable. In the race toward future computing, bioinspired technologies have been shown as promising hardware solutions for computing beyond the Turing model and the classical von Neumann architectures. Going beyond transistor-centred hardware solutions, the research community is exploring new device concepts and architectures that leverage physical phenomena for computing “in materia” with physical laws to emulate the effectiveness of information processing capabilities of our brain. While arrays of memristive devices realised with a top-down approach represent emerging solutions for the hardware realisation of artificial neural networks, these systems do not emulate the topology and emergent behaviour of biological neuronal circuits where the principle of self-assembly and self-organisation regulates both structure and functions, providing adaptability, efficiency, and robustness. Tackling main challenges of neuromorphic computing, the MEMBRAIN project aim to develop a radically new concept of physically grounded computing nanoarchitecture based on self-organising memristive nanonetworks of dendrites, able to efficiently process information and to store knowledge on the same physical substrate at the matter level through physical laws. Overcoming the concept of nanotechnology as a simple advancement of microtechnology, the ambition is to compute like nature – thermodynamically – to push computation near fundamental limits of efficiency. By establishing a hardware-software codesign framework at the crossroads of material science, machine learning and neuroscience, the aim is to retarget the original goal of neuromorphic computing of creating general-purpose truly intelligent systems that endow dynamic learning and multitasking capability.

The concept of a localized single impurity in a many-body system is at the base of some of the most celebrated problems in condensed matter. The aim of the PlusOne project is to realize the physical paradigm of a single localized impurity in a many-body system to advance quantum simulation of in- and out-of equilibrium many-body physics. Our quantum simulator will consist of a degenerate gas of fermions as a many-body system, with a single trapped ion playing the role of the impurity. The novel design of our atom-ion hybrid system surpasses all the limitations that prevent current systems from reaching full control of atom-ion interactions because it is energetically closed. Using this system, we will characterize atom-ion collisions in the so-far unexplored ultracold regime. We will use the single trapped ion to induce non-equilibrium dynamics in the many-body system by quenching the atom-ion interactions. This process will cause an entanglement between the many-body dynamics and the ion’s internal state, enabling us to detect the many-body evolution by performing quantum tomography on the ion. By these means, we will observe the emergence of the Anderson Orthogonality Catastrophe for the first time in the time domain, and investigate the universality of this phenomenon. Additionally, we will explore the thermodynamics of a system out of equilibrium by measuring the work distribution of a non-equilibrium transformation, and testing the seminal Tasaki-Crooks fluctuation relation for the first time in a many-body system in the quantum regime. Finally, we will use the single trapped ion as a single atom probe and as a density- and time- correlation detector in a system of atoms loaded in an optical lattice. This achievement will significantly improve current methods for probing many-body physics with ultracold atoms. Our groundbreaking system will hence inaugurate concrete and decisive advances in the quantum simulation of many-body physics with quantum gases.

Optical transitions in atoms and ions are used in precise interferometry, quantum computation (QC) and accurate clock applications, and the research in these fields has led the birth of a laser spectroscopy industry. Currently, this industry is growing, and smaller lasers are already finding their way into exciting transportable applications, such as rockets. QC possesses extensive market potential, and is expected to surpass the $2 billion mark over the next five years. QC industry is a forerunner in adopting tomorrow’s technologies, and the demand they create for new high-tech will also benefit other domains. Currently, QC is facing an enormous bottleneck – computers occupy large spaces in a way reminiscent of the 1960’s, when personal computers filled entire rooms but could carry out only the simplest operations. At the heart of miniaturization efforts for quantum computers are compact, reliable and inexpensive laser systems. In our laboratory, we faced the very same problem with our laser spectroscopy setup and were frustrated by the amount of time we had to devote to maintenance. We made an exciting innovation to overcome the current challenges. The key lies on the design of our Extended-Cavity Diode Laser (ECDL)-based setup, which combines the best features of current laser configurations (Littrow/Cateye). We use a novel design which makes the operation of the ECDL virtually free from any mechanical hysteresis-related problems. We can also fit the laser inside a miniaturized power supply, and achieve a considerably smaller volume for the unit. Therefore, we can create a compact, reliable and cost-effective laser system attractive for various applications. In the PoC, we will carry out a technology PoC and a commercialization PoC to improve the time to market of our exciting approach to laser spectroscopy.

Photonics has a major impact on technological innovations and can revolutionize the field of computing and data processing due to its high bandwidth, speed, and low power consumption. This has already happened for data communication via fiber-optic connections, while light processing in embedded systems is still performed by electronics via power-hungry optical-electrical conversion. The future development of integrated photonics is then waiting for new integrable materials that can advance the functionality of photonic chips towards all-optical signal processing at very low light intensities. While linear operations and parallel matrix multiplication can be efficiently performed by light, nonlinear optical functions are notoriously difficult to implement because they require a suitable medium for efficient photon-photon interaction. Currently, there is a lack of materials with large third-order nonlinearity, high speed and easy processability and integration in 2D and 3D structures. 3DnanoGiant aims to develop new nonlinear photonic materials that can be integrated into heterogeneous functional platforms or chiplets. To this end, I will exploit the giant optical nonlinearity of liquid crystals (ten orders of magnitude larger than that of silicon), for new formulations and lithographic strategies by which the liquid crystals will be confined in a printable nano-porous polymer network. Their 3D nanopatterning will enable the production of multidimensional hybrid nonlinear photonic devices, from all-optical 2D logic gates and ultrafast nonlinear activation functions to self-oscillating 3D photonic crystals. In parallel, the propagation, interaction and polymerization of solitons in a 3D(+1) space will lay the foundation for a new unsupervised bottom-up 3D printing technology. The goals of 3DnanoGiant will redefine the state-of-the-art in integrated nonlinear photonics with practical and versatile heterogeneous chip for fast and energy-efficient optical processing.

Atomic Quantum Memories (QMs) have been primarily exploited for applications requiring the on-demand storage and retrieval of light pulses, such as long- distance quantum communication, synchronization of single-photon sources, and quantum computers by enabling efficient quantum data transfer and entanglement distribution, extending communication distances, and increasing fidelity for extended periods compared to classical methods or direct transmission without memory-assisted buffering. In this scenario, a new and still largely unexplored frontier has emerged: QMs can serve as a key tool for advancing quantum imaging and sensing. With Hop-On QUANTIFY, we will contribute to this effort by both developing miniaturized QM with state-of-the art performance and by conducting a study aimed at unlocking and revealing the potential of QMs to enhance the performance of quantum sensors, particularly those being developed within the QUANTIFY project. To do this, we will replace the standard vapor cell used in memory operating @Institute of Physics in Zagreb with miniaturized MEMS cells and, we will test the same 780 nm photonic integrated circuit (PIC) laser developed for the QUANTIFY project, optimized for the excitation of the first resonance line in the Rb atoms. Our proposal represents a crucial advancement in addressing the challenge of applying MEMS cell and PIC lasers to real-world applications testing their performance for the QMs application. This pioneering application marks a significant advancement, leveraging cutting-edge PIC technology for on-chip quantum memory development. Finally, we will undertake a detailed study to assess the potential of QMs in enhancing the performance of quantum sensors by identifying performance gaps and assessing whether QMs can address these limitations, and by evaluating the potential of squeezed light sources in enhancing QM performance. Metrology protocols to ensure the traceability of QMs to SI will be also proposed.